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SportsPulse: The latest Nike-Kaepernick shoe debacle isn't an opportunity to pick sides but a chance to take time to learn lessons about our own country's history, says USA TODAY Sports' Christine Brennan.
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell waded into the controversy over the Betsy Ross flag on Thursday, tweeting out a picture of the flag with the caption "Happy Fourth of July!"

Twitter users were quick to note that the Commonwealth of Kentucky, McConnell's home state, is not included on the flag.

The flag has been a flashpoint for controversy after Nike canceled its decision to produce a shoe with the flag on it. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Colin Kaepernick had contacted Nike to explain that the flag had been appropriated as a symbol by some extremist groups and that he and others found the flag offensive.

Republicans had lashed out at Nike after the company canceled the shoe. Arizona's Republican Gov. Doug Ducey vowed to cancel incentives the state had offered Nike to open a shoe manufacturing plant near Phoenix.

Twitter users noted that Kentucky was not included on the flag McConnell tweeted, as the 13 stars on the flag symbolize the original 13 colonies of the United States. Kentucky did not become a state until 1792 and was a county of Virginia before then.

Marie Connor, a comedian, noted that Kentucky was not a state at the time of the flag's sewing.

McConnell had weighed in on the flag controversy earlier in the week as well. On Tuesday, McConnell said that he would "make the first order" if Nike reinstated production of the shoes with the Betsy Ross flag.

Senator McConnell weighs in on Nike’s decision to pull the Betsy Ross shoes. “I’ll make the first order.” pic.twitter.com/QtMP1jXJpC